


Unfinished Painting

by MeganMoonlight



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Painting, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-17
Updated: 2011-06-17
Packaged: 2017-10-20 12:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/212648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganMoonlight/pseuds/MeganMoonlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He didn’t know what made Evan so angry and he couldn’t stop thinking about it...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unfinished Painting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nanuk_dain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/gifts).



It wasn’t his fault he wanted to know where his lover is at the moment. Ronon asked Evan if he could transfer to Sheppard’s team because it’d make everything easier for them. He just cared so now he had to find out what made Evan so angry to even talk about it calmly. When he was thinking about it, he asked two times and twice the only reaction he got was annoyed glare and the other man leaving the room. He’d probably slam the door, too, if he could. Evan didn’t even want to mention it and Ronon couldn’t understand why.

It’s been a week since he saw Evan last time. He wasn’t too worried, as far as he knew all the off-world missions lately went not like they planned. This one was supposed to take three days, not more, or at least Sheppard told him so, when he informed Ronon that Evan’s team have got next mission, one day after they came back from their last one. Okay, so maybe he was worried. Who wouldn’t be?

Ronon didn’t like the fact that he got to spend only a couple of hours alone with Evan this week. He woke up alone in his quarters, put his clothes on and… breakfast was on his list, too, but he didn’t feel like eating, really. He took what Evan usually eats. A lot of vegetables. Spotting his team wasn’t hard, McKay was as loud as always and adding to that Sheppard and Teyla who were laughing at him… it wasn’t hard to miss them, even in the room full of people. He sat down and without any words started to eat, not really caring that his teammates became very quiet and were staring at him.

“Ronon, why are you eating so many vegetables?” McKay broke the silence, but he quickly closed his mouth when he heard Ronon’s growl. It always worked on him… but this time Ronon didn’t feel like smiling.

Staring at the plate full of vegetables wasn’t helping at all. He still didn’t know what made Evan so angry and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Deciding that he wasn’t as hungry as he had first thought he left, leaving his teammates confused. At first going to his room and spending some time there seemed like a good idea, but he ended up in front of Evan’s instead. How long he was standing there, staring at the closed door, he wasn’t sure and he didn’t care, not really.

Teyla’s warm hand on his shoulder was unexpected, her eyes full of concern weren’t big of a surprise, though.

“John is worried about you, Ronon. So am I,” she said, not taking her hand from his shoulder. “Would you like to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he answered, maybe too quickly, because Teyla’s look had grow even more concerned. He didn’t like it when his friend was worried about him. She had too many problems of her own. But it was hard to hide anything from somebody like her. That, and maybe fact he sucked when it came to talking about his private life… or lying about it to the members of his team, especially to Teyla. And she knew it, too. She always seemed to know when he needed somebody to talk to, almost like Evan did.

Ten minutes later they were sitting in Teyla’s quarters on the floor. He leant back against the bed and stared at the wall when Teyla handed him a cup of tea, and sat next to him with her own cup in hands. Ronon was thankful it wasn’t one of those uncomfortable silences because he’d probably go even more crazy. The tea helped him to relax a little, too. He liked tea, but the others didn’t need to know that. It was enough Evan knew, and maybe Teyla, but even if she did, she didn’t comment on it.

“Is it about Evan?” she asked finally, breaking the silence and Ronon sighed. Straight to the point. He nodded. “It has something to do with his current mission. am I right?” When he nodded again Teyla put her hand on his shoulder for the second time. “Ronon, I can’t help you when you are not telling me what the problem is,” she said softly.

Right. Teyla wasn’t a mind-reader. For a second he felt like he'd forgotten how to use actual words.

“We talked. I asked him to transfer to our team and he got angry, I think. So I left him be, and a couple of hours later when I went to his room to talk, Sheppard appeared and told me we have a few days off. He also mentioned that Evan and his team went on the next mission. He was probably still angry. Don’t know why.” Let’s keep it short and simple. It was embarrassing enough without the details. His friend probably would work them out sooner or later on her own. She had her ways.

“When was that?”

“…seven days ago.”

Silence again. Teyla got up from her spot on the floor, left her empty cup on the table and sat back down next to him. She was calm as always, and her face didn’t show anything besides the concern and sympathy when their eyes locked. It probably meant she knew what was wrong and maybe he’ll finally find out what he did wrong. She was always the best when it came to reading people.

“It wasn’t the first time you asked him to transfer.”

It wasn’t a question so he decided to keep looking at his friend.

“Very well. It means it wasn’t the first time he reacted like he did when you tried to talk about it.”

He felt kind of stupid. All he was doing was nodding. It was so weird. At least he knew Teyla would never judge him. Still it was worrying. ‘Is it only her or am I really that predictable and easy to read? Damn it!’

“He probably doesn’t want people to think differently of him. At least that’s what it looks like,” she said finally.

“I don’t get it. I just asked him to transfer,” Ronon shrugged, “and he left. What’s the problem? We could spend more time together. That’s what he wanted, us spending more time together… now he gets angry whenever I mention it.”

Teyla sighed so he guessed he did something wrong. Great. Now he wanted to know what it was even more. It seemed… logical to him to ask his partner that. He cared about Evan and he wanted to show it.

“I think it’s because he is a soldier. Being a major is probably part of this, too,” she said and turned her head towards him.

“What does it have to do with anything?”

“May I ask, what did you say for the first time when you mentioned it?”

Ronon shrugged again. “He just finished training. Told him I’m going on a mission and his team was asked to go with us.”

“It was the mission when he was injured, yes?”

He didn’t like to think about that part of the mission, but he nodded and continued. “The doc let me visit him. Evan’s team and a couple of other people were there with him. I told them to get out and asked Evan to transfer to our team if he doesn’t want to get injured so often. He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds and when he finally answered, he told me to go. Didn’t see him for three days after that.”

Teyla was sitting quietly, thinking and listening. Now he started to feel even more nervous. Great.

“In my opinion, he reacted this way, because you made him look like he can’t take care of himself in front of his people, since you didn’t say if they actually left or not,” she said finally. “He didn’t want his people and the others present at the time to think that he’s weak. And you with your idea made him look this way.”

Ronon was completely lost now. ‘That’s just stupid, he wouldn’t think that… would he?’ Teyla must have caught his train of thoughts and answered his question.

“Being a major and the leader of the team is important to him, just like to everybody on Atlantis,” she said, making sure Ronon is looking at her. “He needs his people’s respect. You have to remember that. On Sateda respect of the others was very important, too, right?”

“You don’t have to tell me,” he sighed. It was all so weird. What else he could do at this point? “Evan’s good at what he’s doing. He’s professional and he cares about his people, so why shouldn’t they respect him if he’d transfer?”

“Ronon, I may be wrong, but I don’t think it’s only about the transfer itself. You have to know that not everybody here is comfortable with your relationship and I’m sure a lot of them know, by accident or otherwise,” Teyla continued patiently, while Ronon was wondering what it has to do with anything. “Remember what John told you about keeping an eye on some people after you informed him that you are in relationship with Evan? About looking out for yourself? Not everybody here is open minded, you know that.”

Yeah, Ronon knew very well, he already met a couple of people who had problems with him staying on Atlantis.

“Some of the soldiers could…”

“I’ll just make sure to protect him, then. No big deal,” he interrupted.

“In any other situation, it’d be good, but at the moment, I don’t think Evan would appreciate that.”

“Why?”

“It would mean he needs you to protect him from everything.”

Ronon cursed. It was all so irritating! “Is everything here so complicated?” he growled to himself and felt Teyla’s hand on his back. He was tense. Well, it wasn’t his fault, not at all.

“I think some people still have to get used to everything. Everybody knows how strong you are and how good at fighting and sparring, they don’t question it. Evan probably wants to prove himself, too, even if he doesn’t have to. Not to us or his team, but to other people. They have to know they can count on him if something happens, trust him with their lives. It’s his job to protect them, that’s why he needs people trust and respect,” she paused and covered Ronon’s hand with her own. “He loves you, and you’re important to him, we all can see that. But his job is important, too.”

Okay, he understood. The thing was, now he felt worse than before, when he was clueless. He cursed himself for not noticing what’s going on before. He nodded to Teyla, put his empty cup on the table, and let her put her arms around him in the friendly, comforting embrace, before he went to his room. There wasn’t much he could do right now, besides sparring with Sheppard, eating or listening to McKay talk about whatever he was doing at the moment. That’s what he did for two next days. He didn’t even mind McKay’s rambling all that much anymore and Sheppard’s asking if he was okay. And Teyla’s sympathetic smiles were making him feel a little better. He’d found himself visiting Beckett more often, too. Beckett didn’t ask any questions, just kept talking with him about anything Ronon wanted or just let him hang around, sometimes even helping. Spending time with Beckett made him feel better, too. He liked it.

When, on the second day, he left Beckett with his patients, he felt the urge to go to Evan’s quarters. This stupid mission shouldn’t last so long and he knew it. Now he was really worried. He knew Evan was okay and capable of taking care of himself and his team, but… he was just concerned. He was about to enter the room when Sheppard appeared in front of him. ‘If I won’t stop being so distracted, everybody will be able to just surprise me. McKay would never leave it down.’ It wasn’t good. He should work on it. Maybe Evan could help him when he gets back?

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you like that.” He grinned and Ronon couldn’t help but growl at that. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just Elizabeth got a message from Lorne. They’re coming back today. I thought you’d like to hear that. They’re all okay, so you can lighten up a little, big guy.”

“Yeah, thanks,” he answered quickly, trying to sound natural, but inside he smiled. He knew Sheppard knew, so he just clapped Sheppard on the back and entered the room.

Spending a few hours just walking around, waiting for Evan to come back seemed like a good idea at first. He knew it was stupid to wait like that because Evan’s going to be tired and he’d probably like to go to his quarters to rest a little. And it was sure there will be no talking or anything else unless Evan’s rested and ate something. And there was hope Evan wasn’t really angry with him.

Evan’s team arrived a couple of minutes after midnight. All of them were tired, but at least in one piece. Evan arrived last, making sure everybody’s okay and everything is secure. He looked worse than the rest and Ronon had to fight the urge to go there and just help Evan. But he knew better, and without risking that Evan will get even more angry, he decided to just wait and see if his help would be needed. It turned out it was needed, so he helped with carrying all the bags the team brought with them. Sheppard joined him a few minutes later, while Evan was talking with Beckett. He was surrounded by various people who clapped him on the back and shoulders, congratulated him on doing a great job on the mission. Seeing Evan smiling like that was always amazing, but now, he really felt like smiling, too, especially after everything Teyla had told him about Evan wanting people’s respect. After being rescued from the crowd by Beckett, Evan was asked to go with Weir. Ronon wanted to wait and go back with Evan, but Sheppard told him it’ll take longer and he should make sure Evan will eat something and rest when he gets back. Sure, he could do that. Ending up in Evan’s quarters, with supper and water, sitting on the bed, he waited patiently.

Evan arrived two hours later, looking bad. Very bad. When Ronon met his lover’s gaze he wanted to look at the floor and just disappear, but instead, he just kept looking, for a while wishing he could know what to say to break the silence. He wasn’t surprised when Evan sighed quietly, looking at the plate full of sandwiches laying on the table.

“I’m sorry. I’m not very hungry right now.”

‘I shouldn’t let him go to sleep without eating something,’ he thought, but it was sure making Evan do something he didn’t want right now would be a bad move, so he just nodded. ’Okay… now shower and then bed.’ “Want to take a shower or something?” he asked out loud, standing up and heading up to the bathroom, wanting to prepare everything, when Evan stopped him.

“I just… I just need some sleep right now, okay?” Damn, Ronon couldn’t help but nod when Evan looked like that, rubbing his eyes slowly. He helped his lover to undress and tucked him in bed, leaving a glass of water near the bed, just in case.

‘He probably wants to rest without me here,’ Ronon thought as he got up from the bed, but when he meant to leave the room quietly, he felt a warm hand on his wrist.

“Stay.”

Sitting back down at Evan’s quiet, tired voice, he swallowed. “You’re not angry about… you know…”

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow. Please”

That was all Ronon needed. In a few minutes he undressed, left his clothes on the chair next to Evan’s own clothes and took the offered place when Evan made a room for him on the bed. Soon they were spooning together under the comforter, with Evan’s arm wrapped protectively around Ronon’s waist, hugging him close. He knew something had to happen on the mission, but he decided not to think about it and relax after almost a week of sleepless nights. Evan’s breath tickling his neck, legs tangled together and all the emotions coming from just sleeping next to Evan felt really good. Finally he felt like he could relax, knowing that his partner is okay, and sleeping next to him. He had to mention that to Evan sometime, when he’ll find a right time, Evan liked to hear this kind of things. Now that he thought about it all and his behavior for the last couple of days it was kind of scary how Evan managed to have a huge impact on Ronon’s life and behavior. It was like… Evan has wrapped him around his finger, without really noticing it. And it also felt weird, that he didn’t mind it as much as he thought before his relationship with Evan started. With Evan, it just felt good. He closed his eyes and in his mind he saw the image of Melena. Deep down, he knew she’d be happy for him. So surrounded by the warmth and comfort of Evan’s embrace, he went to sleep.

***

In the morning he woke up earlier just to look at his sleeping lover. Evan slept in, and Ronon brought breakfast for both of them, ignoring smirk from Sheppard when he saw him taking two plates. He’ll have to make sure to not let Sheppard win the next time they spar together. He took everything to Evan’s room, not really surprised to see the other man awake and looking at him.

They ate sandwiches in a silence that was more comfortable than he expected, after a very weird week. He still had to apologize, he just couldn’t find the right words. ‘Damn it! Just say what Teyla told you!’ His mouth didn’t want to work like he wanted. Evan must have notice it and as always he was the one to break the silence.

“I’m not angry,” he said slowly, placing the empty plate on the floor, next to the bed.

Ronon decided to remain silent, still not sure what he should say to that. Nodding became part of the list of the most often used responses. He just wanted everything to be like it was before, before the argument started. But it was good to know Evan wasn’t really angry.

“You know, when I asked, I didn’t mean to…” he started, but Evan stopped him. ‘Not good.’

“I know, Ronon. I overreacted, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left like that.”

“It’s fine,” he replied, locking eyes on the floor, because for some reason looking at Evan would just make him even more speechless and he didn’t want that. “It’s just… I wanted to know where you’d be and what’s happening, so I could help if you needed it. I didn’t want to make you feel like…”

“I know.” The touch of Evan’s lips on his shoulder and arms around his waist were very comforting. “Thank you for caring. But you have to understand, my team is important to me. We’ve been through so much together and I don’t want to leave them. Would you leave Colonel Sheppard’s team and transfer to mine?”

‘I wouldn’t.’ “You may have a point…” he replied, still not looking at Evan.

One thing established. And seeing Evan smiling in the corner of his eye was reassuring. Evan was a calm, gentle man who also could be very professional and focused on the job when he was working, but he never just got angry without really good reason. Not even once it happened that Evan would just stay mad at somebody, since he always went with a rule “forgive and forget”, so it was really hard to imagine major staying angry. It was even harder to not to be afraid that it’ll happen sooner or later and he’ll do something to make Evan angry at him. Shaking his head lightly, he decided to stop thinking and concentrate on much more pleasurable things, like his partner’s smile.

The talk was long, but it was worth of the time, because saying everything Ronon wanted to, even if Evan was the one doing most of the talking, it reassured him even more. Both of them opened to each other, talking about what’s bothering Ronon and about Evan’s insecurities just sitting on the bed, not really touching, but still sharing and taking comfort, closeness coming from one another. Ronon wasn’t surprised when he heard Evan saying almost everything Teyla told him already then they were in her quarters. After, when the growing silence started to get more comfortable and Ronon felt his eyes closing, he also felt Evan’s fingers on his hand, drawing various patterns on the skin in the intimate gesture.

“You should get some sleep, Ronon,” he said quietly. “And don’t try to argue,” he added before Ronon even managed to open his mouth. “It’s not hard to notice when you’re tired.”

“It’s nothing. And I’m not tired. I’m fine”

“You’re not. Not yet, anyway,” he sighed. “Please, could you for once stop being so stubborn and get some sleep? I’ll be back later, right now I still have to take care of all the reports, visit Dr. Beckett and talk to Elizabeth. When I get back, I’ll have some time to relax, too. I’ll come back here and we will relax together. How does it sound?”

“Okay, so… I might be a little sleepy.”

“See? I’m always right,” Evan chuckled and got up from the bed. Ronon grinned at him and before he knew he was lying on his stomach, arms tucked under the pillow, supporting his head, and Evan was putting the covers around him and leaving the room quietly. So, maybe he was more tired than he expected, but he planned to be up before Evan arrives in the quarters. After all his lover was finally back and now there was no way he’d just sleep when he could have some quality time with Evan. Grinning at the thought, he let his body relax and soon, he was asleep.

***

Ronon was sprawled on the sheets, taking more of the bed than he needed and slowly turned his head on the pillow. He wanted to stretch out a little to get rid of the last signs of sleep, because it already felt like he had spent too much time sleeping, but he was comfortable and relaxed on the bed, not thinking about anything in particular. When he was finally ready to bring himself to get up and making a first move didn’t seem too hard he felt a familiar weight on his back and breath warming his skin. Opening eyes slowly he wanted to turn his head around to look at his lover but then his attention was brought the easel standing in the centre of the room and a couple of brushes and paints on the floor. He couldn’t fight the smile slowly forming on his face. He couldn’t see Evan draped over him, but he could definitely feel dry paint on his back when moving his muscles. The younger man didn’t woke up, though. Without making any noise, he just nuzzled Ronon’s skin.

It wasn’t hard to imagine Evan focused on his task, his passion for painting and Ronon decided it felt good to be in the centre of Evan’s attention like that. Knowing that his partner was finding him worth of drawing was definitely good for his ego, big honor and he couldn’t not notice the warm feeling inside him when he thought about it. He was sure that if he would be as talented and patient as Evan, he’d draw his lover who was definitely worth of it. Fair skin and softly sculpted but strong body would look amazing on the canvas, even if not even the best painting in the galaxy would show how amazing and magnificent Evan truly was. For him it was almost intimate, because Ronon had never been with anybody who was interested in painting or drawing him. He wasn’t accustomed to being in the centre of somebody’s attention like that. And also, there was Evan, who fall asleep on top of him once he was done… Evan’s actions were astounding sometimes. He saw the younger man drawing and painting several times, it was one of his lover’s favorite things to do to kill time or just simply relax and enjoy his time off, but he never before saw Evan drawing him… or just he didn’t noticed it before. ‘I’ll have to ask him about that.’

Chance to do just that appeared faster than he expected. Soft kisses on his back, warm hands mapping all the skin they could reach at the moment and quiet purring meant his lover was finally awake. Now when he didn’t have to worry about waking Evan, he moved a little, laying on his back, waiting for the other man to rearrange himself, too. Bright, glowing eyes and an expression Ronon knew as pure joy and happiness managed to make him forget about everything and focus fully on his partner. Without a word, Evan moved closer and pinned him down to the bed, taking the space between his legs, pressing their lips together in a possessive, passionate kiss. Breaking the connection, Evan lowered his head slowly into the spot between Ronon’s neck and shoulder and marked the skin with his teeth. When titling his head a little to give his partner better access, with the corner of his eye he spotted the growing smile gracing the younger man’s face. He decided that giving up all the control and finally giving himself to Evan’s sensual touch was a nice idea so he tried to slide his hands down his lover’s body to bring them closer together. A growl escaped his lips when without any warning Evan got up, pressing quick, chaste kiss to his lips. How cruel was that?

“Tease,” Ronon growled, but couldn’t help smiling when he saw Evan’s expression.

“Sorry, I know getting you all excited isn’t very nice,” the other man replied, “but I still have to finish the reports and if we continued, I would never finish any work.”

“And finishing the painting is part of the work, too?” he asked casually, looking at the brushes on the floor for the second time, before turning his head to Evan, who was now very flushed and looked… cute. “Can I see?”

“No, it’s not.” He stated as casual as he could, but slightly flushed cheeks still betrayed the fact he was embarrassed. “And yes, you can, but after I finish. Right now it doesn’t even look good, because you kept moving.” They both started to laugh at that, and Ronon didn’t mention drawing him anymore, but now he was sure it wasn’t the first time Evan had tried to draw him. Instead he decided to ask a question that didn’t want to leave his mind since Evan’s return from the mission.

If the transfer wasn’t going to work he decided to try asking for something else. He inhaled deeply and looked at Evan, whose attention was still on the paints and brushes in the centre of the room. It was frustrating when not even one sound escaped his mouth. Damn it. ‘Just tell him!’

“You want to ask something?”

Sighing, Ronon nodded again. “You want to move in with me?”

Silence again. He wanted to apologize for a second time when he saw his lover smiling brightly at him. Now waiting for the answer didn’t seem all too scary.

“Are you sure you could keep up with me?”

Ronon finally could smile freely. Quick press of lips on Evan’s and his lover was already claiming his lips in the next kiss, taking a place between his parted legs. When they broke apart and the younger man’s hand was massaging Ronon’s thigh gently.

“You know if we do this, you’re moving in here, right?” he asked before sealing their lips together again.

“I know. You have a bigger bed.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic was inspired by wonderful Ronon/Evan manips, chats about Evan's love for painting and Ronon being sweet for people he cares about.


End file.
